GUN CONTROL TO GET MAULED, TRAMPLED & SHREDED in DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA?

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----
The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) and Reaching Out
to Others Together (ROOT) are deeply disturbed by Delegate
Eleanor Holmes Norton's announcement that she is prepared
to accept a D.C. voting rights bill with an amendment
that would eradicate the city's gun laws.

The "D.C. House Voting Rights Act," which would grant the
District of Columbia a single voting Member in the House of
Representatives and give Utah an additional seat, passed the Senate
in February 2009 with the "Ensign Amendment" attached.
The amendment, sponsored by Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
would legalize assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines;
repeal the District's licensing and registration system;
allow some convicted substance abusers and violent misdemeanants
to purchase and own firearms;
roll back important regulations curbing illegal gun trafficking; and
prevent the D.C. Council from enacting any gun-related legislation in the future.

The bill has been held up in the House since that time, as Democratic
leaders in the chamber lack the votes to pass clean legislation
without a gun amendment attached. Delegate Norton has now
indicated she wants to move forward with the legislation anyway,
despite her previous assertion that, "The only thing that would
cause more murder and mayhem in this city is allowing freer access to guns."

"It is unfathomable that Delegate Norton would move forward
with a bill that would legalize assault weapons in the wake of the
recent mass shooting in the District involving an AK-47," said
ROOT CEO Kenny Barnes, who was the recipient of the 2009
Department of Justice's National Crime Victim Service Award. "As
we begin observing National Crime Victims' Rights Week, the
message that her actions send to the families of the children lost
in that shooting -- and to all those who have been victimized by
gun violence -- is that their safety is nothing more than a
bargaining chip."

Mayor Adrian Fenty recently told NewsChannel 8 that he is ready
to accept this Faustian Bargain, despite past statements of support
for tough federal regulations to curb illegal firearms trafficking.

"Apparently Mayor Fenty was just paying lip service to the idea
of denying guns to criminals," said CSGV Executive Director Josh Horwitz.
"The Ensign Amendment would completely dismantle current
law enforcement efforts to keep firepower off the streets.
Any mayor that would give the up the ability to protect his
citizens from crime and violence does not deserve the office."

The willingness of Delegate Norton and Mayor Fenty to accept a
gun amendment has split the home rule movement. Ilir Zherka,
the executive director of the advocacy group DC Vote, has
indicated he supports Norton's strategy, despite his organization's
stated mission of "securing full voting representation in Congress
and full democracy for the residents of the District of Columbia."
Several of the groups that are part of the DC Vote Coalition
stepped away from a meeting with Norton on Thursday afternoon
in disbelief.

"You can't secure democracy by allowing the National Rifle Association
to write gun policy in place of our elected officials," said Mike
Beard, the President of CSGV and former Executive Director
of Self-Determination for D.C., a national coalition that was
instrumental in enacting the "District of Columbia Home Rule
Act." "That's the antithesis of self-determination."
[All emfasis has been added by David.]